Most of the time, mosques are seen as places restricted only for Muslims to pray and carry out other religious activities.

However, this view was rearranged somewhat last Friday by youngsters who came to Ramadhan Jazz 2016 at the Cut Meutia Mosque in Cikini, Central Jakarta. 23-year-old Hanindya Bodhi Wijaya, for example, came away with a different perspective.

The Buddhist animator visited the courtyard of the Cut Meutia Mosque on Friday evening to witness its annual Jazz festival, which was held from Friday to Saturday by Cut Meutia Mosque’s Islamic Youth (RICMA) teaming up with jazz portal wartajazz.com.

The event was enlivened by numerous prominent Jazz groups and musicians, like the Idang Rasjidi Quintet, Maliq & d’Essentials, Dira Sugandi and Barry Likumahuwa.

Hanindya, who is also called Nindya, valued the visit as an opportunity to be entertained and to find out what goes on inside a mosque — a place she had never visited before.

“Although I cannot enter the building, I am quite satisfied to be here, in the mosque’s courtyard. Somehow, being able to step around mosque’s area feels special to me,” said Nindya, who came to the event to watch her favorite Jazz singer Dira Sugandi.

Initially, she added, she hesitated to come to the music event. However, her Muslim friends convinced her that the mosque was open to “anyone with good will”.

“They told me to not think that mosques were only for Muslims. They said as long as I had good will, I was welcome,” said Nindya, who wore a long-sleeved blouse and long trousers. “They emphasized that I had to, at least, wear skin-covering clothes to respect Muslim values.”

Nindya, who came with a Christian and two Muslim friends, sang along with Dira Sugandi in a friendly atmosphere that did not make her feel any different from the Muslims present.

The organizers of the Jazz festival opened the Mosque’s gate for literally anyone.

“Through the event, we want to show that Islam is a peaceful religion that welcomes anyone regardless their background. We want to show that religious tolerance happens here at the mosque,” said RICMA chairman Mochamad Deo Saputra, 23, adding that the event was also designed to attract more Muslim youngsters to take part in the Mosque’s activities.

The commitment to religious tolerance, he added, was also shown from the recruitment process. The organizers accepted a Christian volunteer to help out at the event.

“It is possible that we will team up with youth organizations from other religions for the upcoming Ramadhan Jazz Festival as we have worked with such organizations in other forms of charity,” Deo added.

Talking further about the Ramadhan Jazz Festival, which is in its sixth year, Deo said the organizers expected to attract 10,000 visitors. Visitors can enter the event by donating cash, blood, books, or even Quran verses.

“This year’s donations are different because we also allow the donation of Quran verses, teaming up with youth initiative movement Quran Indonesia Project. They have a project to record the verses being read. Visitors can donate by providing a record of themselves reading the Quran,” said Deo, adding that the organizers also teamed up with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) for blood donations. Meanwhile, the organizers will distribute the donated books to orphans in Depok, West Java, and disburse cash to the Mosque’s foster children.

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